Icemaker

ABSTRACT

Provided is an ice-making machine, and more particularly, an ice-making machine capable of preventing slush from being formed. The ice-making machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: an ice-making water storage for storing ice-making water therein; an evaporator for making the ice-making water into ice by receiving the ice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage; a pump for moving the ice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage to the evaporator; a temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the ice-making water in the ice-making water storage; and a control unit for controlling water to be supplied into the ice-making water storage at a predetermined time point after the pump is operated, wherein the predetermined time point is any one of a time point at which the temperature sensor reaches a second temperature when the temperature sensor reaches the second temperature, which is lower than a first temperature, within a first time after reaching the first temperature, a time point at which the temperature sensor reaches the first temperature and the first time passes when the temperature sensor does not reach the second temperature within the first time after reaching the first temperature, and a time point at which a second time passes after the pump is operated when the temperature sensor does not reach the first temperature within the second time, which is longer than the first time, after the pump is operated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2017-0028315, filed on Mar. 6, 2017, in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following disclosure relates to an ice-making machine, and moreparticularly, to an ice-making machine capable of preventing slush frombeing formed.

BACKGROUND

An ice-making machine is a device that continuously produces ice cubeshaving a certain shape, and is widely used in homes, restaurants, cafes,and the like. The ice-making machine that produces ice suppliesice-making water stored in an ice-making water storage to an evaporatorthrough a pump, and makes ice from the ice-making water in theevaporator.

When the pump is operated to start ice-making, the ice-making water issupplied to the evaporator, and thus as the ice-making water at roomtemperature slowly reaches a freezing point, the ice is adhered to theevaporator to make ice. Here, the ice should be enlarged as the ice isinitially adhered to the evaporator. However, when the ice is notadhered to the evaporator according to an evaporator temperature,surface tension of the evaporator, an ice-making water temperature, anice-making water supply amount, and the like, and subcooled ice-makingwater is circulated and returned to the ice-making water storage,instantaneous freezing occurs in the ice-making water storage, which hasthe smallest kinetic energy, and slush is generated in the ice-makingwater storage. The thus-generated slush temporarily stops flow of theice-making water or interrupts the circulation of the ice-making water,thereby slowing ice formation, and thus ice quality is deteriorated anda production amount of the ice-making machine is reduced.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to providing anice-making machine capable of preventing slush from being generated orremoving the generated slush immediately in an ice-making process toform ice with good quality.

In one general aspect, an ice-making machine includes: an ice-makingwater storage for storing ice-making water therein; an evaporator formaking the ice-making water into ice by receiving the ice-making waterstored in the ice-making water storage; a pump for moving the ice-makingwater stored in the ice-making water storage to the evaporator; atemperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the ice-making waterin the ice-making water storage; and a control unit for deriving acontrol time point at which slush is predicted to be generated in theice-making water storage based on the temperature of the ice-makingwater measured in the temperature sensor and for controlling to preventslush from being generated in the ice-making water storage or to removethe slush generated in the ice-making water storage at the control timepoint.

In some embodiments, the control time point may be any one of a timepoint at which the temperature sensor reaches a second temperature whenthe temperature sensor reaches the second temperature, which is lowerthan a first temperature, within a first time after reaching the firsttemperature, a time point at which the temperature sensor reaches thefirst temperature and the first time passes when the temperature sensordoes not reach the second temperature within the first time afterreaching the first temperature, and a time point at which a second timepasses after the pump is operated when the temperature sensor does notreach the first temperature within the second time, which is longer thanthe first time, after the pump is operated.

In some embodiments, the control unit may control water to be suppliedinto the ice-making water storage at the control time point.

In some embodiments, the control unit may control water at roomtemperature to be supplied into the ice-making water storage for a fewseconds.

In some embodiments, the ice-making machine of the present invention mayfurther comprise a vibrator positioned inside the ice-making waterstorage and generating ultrasonic waves, wherein the control unitcontrols the vibrator to generate the ultrasonic waves in the ice-makingwater storage at the control time point.

In some embodiments, the ice-making machine of the present invention mayfurther comprise a heater positioned inside the ice-making water storageto raise the temperature of the ice-making water in the ice-making waterstorage, wherein the control unit controls the heater to raise thetemperature of the ice-making water in the ice-making water storage atthe control time point.

In some embodiments, the control unit may pause an operation of the pumpat the control time point, and control the evaporator to be subcooled.

In some embodiments, the control unit may control water to be suppliedinto the ice-making water storage at the control time point.

In some embodiments, the first temperature may be 0° C. and the secondtemperature −1° C.

In some embodiments, the first time may be 1 minute and the second time10 minutes.

In some embodiments, the control unit may derive a further control timepoint at which the slush is predicted to be generated in the ice-makingwater storage after the control time point based on the temperature ofthe ice-making water measured in the temperature sensor.

In some embodiments, the further control time point may be any one of atime point at which the temperature sensor reaches the secondtemperature when the temperature sensor reaches the second temperaturewithin the first time after reaching the first temperature, a time pointat which the temperature sensor reaches the first temperature and thefirst time passes when the temperature sensor does not reach the secondtemperature within the first time after reaching the first temperature,and a time point at which the second time passes from the control timepoint when the temperature sensor does not reach the first temperaturewithin the second time from the control time point.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a first embodiment of anice-making machine according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an example of a processfor preventing slush from being generated in the ice-making machineaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a second embodiment of anice-making machine according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an example of a processfor preventing slush from being generated in the ice-making machineaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a third embodiment of anice-making machine according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an example of a processfor preventing slush from being generated in the ice-making machineaccording to the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a fourth embodiment of anice-making machine according to the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart schematically illustrating an example of a processfor preventing slush from being generated in the ice-making machineaccording to the fourth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure are described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments of thepresent disclosure are provided to more fully describe the presentdisclosure to those skilled in the art, and the following Examples canbe modified in various ways, and the scope of the present disclosure isnot limited to the following Examples. Rather, these Examples areprovided in order to make the present disclosure more thorough andcomplete and completely transfer ideas of the present disclosure tothose skilled in the art.

In the drawings, for example, variations in the shape shown may beexpected depending on manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances.Accordingly, Examples of the present disclosure should not be construedas limited to any particular shape of the regions illustrated herein,including, for example, changes in shape resulting from manufacturing.Like reference numerals denote like elements at all times. Further,various elements and regions in the drawings are schematically drawn.Accordingly, the disclosure is not limited by relative size or spacingdepicted in the accompanying drawings.

The present disclosure relates to an ice-making machine capable ofpreventing slush from being generated in an ice-making water storage orremoving the generated slush quickly. To this end, the ice-makingmachine includes a control unit for deriving a control time point atwhich slush is predicted to be generated based on a temperature of anice-making water in the ice-making water storage and for controlling toprevent slush from being generated or to remove the generated slush atthe control time point.

Here, the control time point is a time point at which the temperaturesensor reaches a second temperature when the temperature sensor reachesthe second temperature, which is lower than a first temperature, withina first time after reaching the first temperature, or a time point atwhich the temperature sensor reaches the first temperature and the firsttime passes when the temperature sensor does not reach the secondtemperature within the first time after reaching the first temperature,or a time point at which a second time passes after a pump for movingthe ice-making water to an evaporator is operated when the temperaturesensor does not reach the first temperature within the second time,which is longer than the first time, after the pump is operated. Here,the first temperature may be 0° C. and the second temperature may be −1°C., and the first time may be 1 minute and the second time may be 10minutes.

Further, the control unit may derive a further control time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be generated in the ice-making waterstorage after the above-described control time point and may control toprevent slush from being generated or to remove the generated slush atthe further control time point. Here, the further control time point maybe a time point at which the temperature sensor reaches the secondtemperature when the temperature sensor reaches the second temperaturewithin the first time after reaching the first temperature, or a timepoint at which the temperature sensor reaches the first temperature andthe first time passes when the temperature sensor does not reach thesecond temperature within the first time after reaching the firsttemperature, or a time point at which the second time passes from thecontrol time point when the temperature sensor does not reach the firsttemperature within the second time from the control time point. Here,the first temperature may be 0° C. and the second temperature may be −1°C., and the first time may be 1 minute and the second time may be 10minutes. Further, the control unit may derive the further control timepoint at least once to prevent generation of the slush or remove thegenerated slush.

The control time point or the further control time point at which theslush is predicted to be generated in the ice-making water storage isderived from various experiments by the inventor of the presentdisclosure. At the control time point or the further control time pointdescribed above, the control unit may supply water to the inside of theice-making water storage, or may generate ultrasonic waves in theice-making water storage, or may raise the temperature of the ice-makingwater in the ice-making water storage by using a heater, or may pause anoperation of the pump for moving the ice-making water to the evaporatorand subcool the evaporator in order to prevent the slush from beinggenerated or to remove the generated slush.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the ice-making machine according tothe present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of an ice-makingmachine according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ice-making machine 100 of the first embodimentincludes an ice-making water storage 110, an evaporator 120, a pump 130,an ice-making water supply valve 140, a temperature sensor 150, and acontrol unit 160. The flow of ice-making water in the ice-making machine100 of the first embodiment is indicated by arrows.

The ice-making water storage 110 has a receiving space in which theice-making water is capable of being stored. The ice-making water iswater for ice-making, and is supplied into the ice-making water storage110 through an ice-making water supply pipe 115. The supply of theice-making water is performed through the ice-making water supply valve140. The ice-making water storage 110 is provided with an upper limitdetection sensor 170 and a lower limit detection sensor 175, and thesedetection sensors 170 and 175 allow an appropriate amount of ice-makingwater to be supplied to the ice-making water storage 110.

The evaporator 120 is disposed above the ice-making water storage 110,and forms ice from the ice-making water supplied from the ice-makingwater storage 110 through the pump 130. The evaporator 120 is providedwith a cooling line through which a refrigerant circulates, and therefrigerant circulates through the cooling line to make ice from theice-making water supplied to the evaporator 120. The evaporator 120 ofthe first embodiment is in the form of a plate. When the ice-makingwater supplied to a surface of the plate-shaped evaporator 120 reaches afreezing point, the ice is adhered to the surface of the evaporator 120,and after that, the ice is gradually enlarged to perform ice-making. Theice-making water that has not been made into ice falls and circulates tothe ice-making water storage 110 positioned below the evaporator 120.The ice-making water entering the ice-making water storage 110 issupplied to the evaporator 120 by the pump 130 again.

The pump 130 is positioned in the receiving space inside the ice-makingwater storage 110 and supplies the ice-making water stored in theice-making water storage 110 to the evaporator 120 disposed above theice-making water storage 110.

The temperature sensor 150 is positioned in the receiving space insidethe ice-making water storage 110, and measures the temperature of theice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage 110.

The control unit 160 controls to prevent the slush from being generatedin the ice-making water storage 110, or to quickly remove the generatedslush therefrom. To this end, the control unit 160 derives a furthercontrol time point at which the slush is predicted to be generated inthe ice-making water storage 110 and controls the ice-making watersupply valve 140 so that water is supplied into the ice-making waterstorage 110 at this control time point. The water at this time may bewater at room temperature, and when the water at room temperature issupplied into the ice-making water storage 110, the temperature of theice-making water in the ice-making water storage 110 is raised toprevent the slush from being generated in the ice-making water storage110, or to quickly remove the generated slush.

The control time point is derived based on the temperature of theice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 150. Here, thecontrol time point corresponds to a time point at which the temperaturesensor 150 reaches a second temperature when the temperature sensor 150reaches the second temperature, which is lower than a first temperature,within a first time after reaching the first temperature. However, atime point at which the temperature sensor 150 reaches the firsttemperature and the first time passes when the temperature sensor 150reaches the first temperature but does not reach the second temperaturewithin the first time, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Inaddition, a time point at which the second time passes after the pump130 is operated when the temperature sensor 150 does not reach the firsttemperature within the second time, which is longer than the first time,after the pump 130 is operated, corresponds to the control time point.Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and the second temperature maybe −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minute and the second time may be10 minutes.

Hereinafter, a control method of the control unit 160 for preventing theslush from being generated or quickly removing the generated slush willbe described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a flowchartschematically illustrating an example of a process for preventing slushfrom being generated in the ice-making machine 100 according to thefirst embodiment or quickly removing the generated slush therefrom.

Referring to FIG. 2, when the pump 130 is operated and an appropriateamount of ice-making water in the ice-making water storage 110 is storedby the upper limit detection sensor 170, ice-making is started in astate where no more water is supplied into the ice-making water storage110 by turning the ice-making water supply valve 140 off (S210).

In order to prevent generation of slush in the ice-making water storage110 during the ice-making, the control unit 160 measures the temperaturethrough the temperature sensor 150 measuring the temperature of theice-making water in the ice-making water storage 110 and confirmswhether the temperature has reached 0° C. (S220). Then, when thetemperature measured by the temperature sensor 150 has reached 0° C.,the control unit 160 calculates a time elapsed after reaching 0° C.(S230). Next, the control unit 160 confirms whether the time elapsedafter reaching 0° C. has passed 1 minute (S240). When the time has notpassed 1 minute since the temperature measured by the temperature sensor150 reached 0° C., the control unit 160 measures the temperature throughthe temperature sensor 150 measuring the temperature of the ice-makingwater in the ice-making water storage 110 and confirms whether thetemperature has reached −1° C. (S250). When the temperature measured bythe temperature sensor 150 has reached −1° C. before 1 minute has passedsince 0° C. was reached, the control unit 160 controls the ice-makingwater supply valve 140 to be turned on at this time point so that wateris supplied into the ice-making water storage 110 (S260). Here, thewater to be supplied may be water at room temperature and may besupplied for several seconds, preferably for about 5 seconds.

However, when the temperature of the temperature sensor 150 has notreached −1° C. over 1 minute since the temperature of the temperaturesensor 150 reached 0° C. in steps S230 and S240, the control unit 160controls the ice-making water supply valve 140 to be turned on so thatwater is supplied into the ice-making water storage 110 at a time pointwhen 1 minute has passed since the temperature of the temperature sensor150 reached 0° C. (S260). Here, the water to be supplied may be water atroom temperature and may be supplied for several seconds, preferably forabout 5 seconds.

In addition, when the ice-making is started by operating the pump 130,but the temperature of the temperature sensor 150 measured in step S220has not reached 0° C., the control unit 160 calculates the time elapsedafter operating the pump 130, and confirms whether 10 minutes haveelapsed (S270). At a time point at which the temperature of thetemperature sensor 150 has not reached 0° C. but 10 minutes has elapsedsince the pump 130 was operated, the control unit 160 controls theice-making water supply valve 140 to be turned on so that water issupplied into the ice-making water storage 110 (S260). Here, the waterto be supplied may be water at room temperature and may be supplied forseveral seconds, preferably for about 5 seconds.

Through this process, the control time point at which the slush ispredicted to be generated is derived by measuring the temperature of theice-making water in the ice-making water storage 110, and water at roomtemperature is supplied at this control time point, thereby preventingslush from being generated or quickly removing the generated slush.Therefore, the slush prevention effect is remarkably excellent ascompared with a case where water is supplied by arbitrarily selecting aspecific time point. As a result, it is possible to make transparent icewith good quality, and ice is formed in all parts of the evaporator 120,thereby increasing the production amount.

Further, the control unit 160 may derive a further control time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be further generated after water issupplied into the ice-making water storage 110 at the control time pointthrough the process illustrated and described in FIG. 2. Further, thecontrol unit 160 controls the ice-making water supply valve 140 so thatwater is supplied into the ice-making water storage 110 at this furthercontrol time point.

The further control time point is derived based on the temperature ofthe ice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 150 similar tothe control time point. Here, the further control time point correspondsto a time point at which the temperature sensor 150 reaches the secondtemperature when the temperature sensor 150 reaches the secondtemperature, which is lower than the first temperature, within the firsttime after reaching the first temperature. However, a time point atwhich the temperature sensor 150 reaches the first temperature and thefirst time passes when the temperature sensor 150 reaches the firsttemperature but does not reach the second temperature within the firsttime, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Further, a time pointat which the second time passes from the control time point when thetemperature sensor 150 does not reach the first temperature within thesecond time from the control time point, corresponds to the furthercontrol time point. Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and thesecond temperature may be −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minute andthe second time may be 10 minutes.

As described above, the control unit 160 may derive a time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be generated several times, and mayprevent the slush from being generated or quickly remove the generatedslush by supplying water at room temperature at the corresponding time.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a second embodiment of anice-making machine according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, an ice-making machine 300 of the second embodimentincludes an ice-making water storage 310, an evaporator 320, a pump 330,an ice-making water supply valve 340, a temperature sensor 350, avibrator 355, and a control unit 360. The flow of ice-making water inthe ice-making machine 300 of the second embodiment is indicated byarrows.

The ice-making water storage 310 has a receiving space in which theice-making water is capable of being stored. The ice-making water iswater for ice-making, and is supplied into the ice-making water storage310 through an ice-making water supply pipe 315. The supply of theice-making water is performed through the ice-making water supply valve340. The ice-making water storage 310 is provided with an upper limitdetection sensor 370 and a lower limit detection sensor 375, and thesedetection sensors 370 and 375 allow an appropriate amount of ice-makingwater to be supplied to the ice-making water storage 310.

The evaporator 320 is disposed above the ice-making water storage 310,and the ice-making water supplied from the ice-making water storage 310is made into ice through the pump 330. The evaporator 320 is providedwith a cooling line through which a refrigerant circulates, and therefrigerant circulates through the cooling line to make ice from theice-making water supplied to the evaporator 320. The evaporator 320 ofthe second embodiment is in the form of a plate. When the ice-makingwater supplied to a surface of the plate-shaped evaporator 320 reaches afreezing point, the ice is adhered to the surface of the evaporator 320,and after that, the ice is gradually enlarged to perform ice formation.The ice-making water that has not been made into ice falls andcirculates to the ice-making water storage 310 positioned below theevaporator 320. The ice-making water entering the ice-making waterstorage 310 is supplied to the evaporator 320 by the pump 330 again.

The pump 330 is positioned in the receiving space inside the ice-makingwater storage 310 and supplies the ice-making water stored in theice-making water storage 310 to the evaporator 320 disposed above theice-making water storage 310.

The temperature sensor 350 is positioned in the receiving space insidethe ice-making water storage 310, and measures the temperature of theice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage 310.

The vibrator 355 is positioned at a lower part of the receiving spaceinside the ice-making water storage 310 and generates ultrasonic waveswithin the ice-making water storage 310.

The control unit 360 controls to prevent the slush from being generatedin the ice-making water storage 310, or to quickly remove the generatedslush. To this end, the control unit 360 derives a control time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be generated in the ice-making waterstorage 310 and controls the vibrator 355 so as to generate ultrasonicwaves in the ice-making water storage 310 at this control time point.When ultrasonic waves are generated within the ice-making water storage310 through the vibrator 355, the kinetic energy of the ice-making waterin the ice-making water storage 310 is increased to prevent the slushfrom being generated in the ice-making water storage 310 or to quicklyremove the generated slush.

The control time point is derived based on the temperature of theice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 350. Here, thecontrol time point corresponds to a time point at which the temperaturesensor 350 reaches a second temperature when the temperature sensor 350reaches the second temperature, which is lower than a first temperature,within a first time after reaching the first temperature. However, atime point at which the temperature sensor 350 reaches the firsttemperature and the first time passes when the temperature sensor 350reaches the first temperature but does not reach the second temperaturewithin the first time, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Inaddition, a time point at which the second time passes after the pump330 is operated when the temperature sensor 350 does not reach the firsttemperature within the second time, which is longer than the first time,after the pump 330 is operated, corresponds to the control time point.Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and the second temperature maybe −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minute and the second time may be10 minutes.

Hereinafter, a control method of the control unit 360 for preventing theslush from being generated or quickly removing the generated slush willbe described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a flowchartschematically illustrating an example of a process for preventing slushfrom being generated in the ice-making machine 300 according to thesecond embodiment or quickly removing the generated slush therefrom.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the pump 330 is operated and an appropriateamount of ice-making water in the ice-making water storage 310 is storedby the upper limit detection sensor 370, ice-making is started in astate where no more water is supplied into the ice-making water storage310 by turning the ice-making water supply valve 340 off (S410).

In order to prevent generation of slush in the ice-making water storage310 during the ice-making, the control unit 360 measures the temperaturethrough the temperature sensor 350 measuring the temperature of theice-making water in the ice-making water storage 310 and confirmswhether the temperature has reached 0° C. (S420). Then, when thetemperature measured by the temperature sensor 350 has reached 0° C.,the control unit 360 calculates a time elapsed after reaching 0° C.(S430). Next, the control unit 360 confirms whether the time elapsedafter reaching 0° C. has passed 1 minute (S440). When the time has notpassed 1 minute since the temperature measured by the temperature sensor350 reached 0° C., the control unit 360 measures the temperature throughthe temperature sensor 350 measuring the temperature of the ice-makingwater in the ice-making water storage 310 and confirms whether thetemperature has reached −1° C. (S450). When the temperature measured bythe temperature sensor 350 has reached −1° C. before 1 minute has passedsince 0° C. was reached, the control unit 360 controls the vibrator 355at that time point to generate ultrasonic waves in the ice-making waterstorage 310 (S460).

However, when the temperature of the temperature sensor 350 has notreached −1° C. over 1 minute since the temperature of the temperaturesensor 350 reached 0° C. in steps S430 and S440, the control unit 360controls the vibrator 355 to generate ultrasonic waves in the ice-makingwater storage 310 at a time point when 1 minute has passed since thetemperature of the temperature sensor 350 reached 0° C. (S460).

In addition, when the ice-making is started by operating the pump 330,but the temperature of the temperature sensor 350 measured in step S320has not reached 0° C., the control unit 360 calculates the time elapsedafter operating the pump 330, and confirms whether 10 minutes haveelapsed (S470). At a time point at which the temperature of thetemperature sensor 350 has not reached 0° C. but 10 minutes has elapsedsince the pump 330 was operated, the control unit 360 controls thevibrator 355 to generate ultrasonic waves in the ice-making waterstorage 310 (S460).

Through this process, the moment when the slush is generated isspecified by measuring the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 310, and at this moment, the ultrasonic wavesare generated in the ice-making water storage 310 through the vibrator355, thereby preventing slush from being generated or quickly removingthe generated slush. Therefore, the slush prevention effect isremarkably excellent as compared with a case where water is supplied byarbitrarily selecting a specific time point. As a result, it is possibleto make transparent ice with good quality, and ice is formed in allparts of the evaporator 320, thereby increasing the production amount.

Further, the control unit 360 may derive a further control time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be further generated after theultrasonic waves are generated in the ice-making water storage 310through the vibrator 355 at the control time point as illustrated anddescribed in FIG. 4. Further, the control unit 360 controls the vibrator355 so that ultrasonic waves are generated in the ice-making waterstorage 310 at this further control time point.

The further control time point is derived based on the temperature ofthe ice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 350 similar tothe control time point. Here, the further control time point correspondsto a time point at which the temperature sensor 350 reaches the secondtemperature when the temperature sensor 350 reaches the secondtemperature, which is lower than the first temperature, within the firsttime after reaching the first temperature. However, a time point atwhich the temperature sensor 350 reaches the first temperature and thefirst time passes when the temperature sensor 350 reaches the firsttemperature but does not reach the second temperature within the firsttime, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Further, a time pointat which the second time passes from the control time point when thetemperature sensor 350 does not reach the first temperature within thesecond time from the control time point, corresponds to the furthercontrol time point. Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and thesecond temperature may be −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minute andthe second time may be 10 minutes. As described above, the control unit360 may derive a time point at which the slush is predicted to begenerated several times, and may prevent the slush from being generatedor quickly remove the generated slush by supplying water at roomtemperature at the corresponding time.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating a third embodiment of anice-making machine according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, an ice-making machine 500 of the third embodimentincludes an ice-making water storage 510, an evaporator 520, a pump 530,an ice-making water supply valve 540, a temperature sensor 550, a heater555, and a control unit 560. The flow of ice-making water in theice-making machine 500 of the third embodiment is indicated by arrows.

The ice-making water storage 510 has a receiving space in which theice-making water is capable of being stored. The ice-making water iswater for ice-making, and is supplied into the ice-making water storage510 through an ice-making water supply pipe 515. The supply of theice-making water is performed through the ice-making water supply valve540. The ice-making water storage 510 is provided with an upper limitdetection sensor 570 and a lower limit detection sensor 575, and thesedetection sensors 570 and 575 allow an appropriate amount of ice-makingwater to be supplied to the ice-making water storage 510.

The evaporator 520 is disposed above the ice-making water storage 510,and the ice-making water supplied from the ice-making water storage 510is made into ice through the pump 530. The evaporator 520 is providedwith a cooling line through which a refrigerant circulates, and therefrigerant circulates through the cooling line to make ice from theice-making water supplied to the evaporator 520. The evaporator 520 ofthe third embodiment is in the form of a plate. When the ice-makingwater supplied to a surface of the plate-shaped evaporator 520 reaches afreezing point, the ice is adhered to the surface of the evaporator 520,and after that, the ice is gradually enlarged to perform ice formation.The ice-making water that has not been made into ice falls andcirculates to the ice-making water storage 510 positioned below theevaporator 520. The ice-making water entering the ice-making waterstorage 510 is supplied to the evaporator 520 by the pump 530 again.

The pump 530 is positioned in the receiving space inside the ice-makingwater storage 510 and supplies the ice-making water stored in theice-making water storage 510 to the evaporator 520 disposed above theice-making water storage 510.

The temperature sensor 550 is positioned in the receiving space insidethe ice-making water storage 510, and measures the temperature of theice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage 510.

The heater 555 is positioned in a receiving space inside the ice-makingwater storage 510 and raises the temperature of the ice-making water inthe ice-making water storage 510 through the heater 555.

The control unit 560 controls to prevent the slush from being generatedin the ice-making water storage 510, or to quickly remove the generatedslush. To this end, the control unit 560 derives a control time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be generated in the ice-making waterstorage 510 and controls the heater 555 so as to raise the temperatureof the ice-making water in the ice-making water storage 510 at thiscontrol time point. When the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 510 is raised through the heater 555, the slushis prevented from being generated in the ice-making water storage 510 orthe generated slush is quickly removed therefrom.

The control time point is derived based on the temperature of theice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 550. Here, thecontrol time point corresponds to a time point at which the temperaturesensor 550 reaches a second temperature when the temperature sensor 550reaches the second temperature, which is lower than a first temperature,within a first time after reaching the first temperature. However, atime point at which the temperature sensor 550 reaches the firsttemperature and the first time passes when the temperature sensor 550reaches the first temperature but does not reach the second temperaturewithin the first time, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Inaddition, a time point at which the second time passes after the pump530 is operated when the temperature sensor 550 does not reach the firsttemperature within the second time, which is longer than the first time,after the pump 530 is operated, corresponds to the control time point.Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and the second temperature maybe −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minute and the second time may be10 minutes.

Hereinafter, a control method of the control unit 560 for preventing theslush from being generated or quickly removing the generated slush willbe described in detail with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flowchartschematically illustrating an example of a process for preventing slushfrom being generated in the ice-making machine 500 according to thefirst embodiment or quickly removing the generated slush therefrom.

Referring to FIG. 6, when the pump 530 is operated and an appropriateamount of ice-making water in the ice-making water storage 510 is storedby the upper limit detection sensor 570, ice-making is started in astate where no more water is supplied into the ice-making water storage510 by turning the ice-making water supply valve 540 off (S610).

In order to prevent generation of slush in the ice-making water storage510 during the ice-making, the control unit 560 measures the temperaturethrough the temperature sensor 550 measuring the temperature of theice-making water in the ice-making water storage 510 and confirmswhether the temperature has reached 0° C. (S620). In addition, when thetemperature measured by the temperature sensor 550 has reached 0° C.,the control unit 560 calculates a time elapsed after reaching 0° C.(S630). Next, the control unit 560 confirms whether the time elapsedafter reaching 0° C. has passed 1 minute (S640). When the time has notpassed 1 minute since the temperature measured by the temperature sensor550 reached 0° C., the control unit 560 measures the temperature throughthe temperature sensor 550 measuring the temperature of the ice-makingwater in the ice-making water storage 510 and confirms whether thetemperature has reached −1° C. (S650). When the temperature measured bythe temperature sensor 550 has reached −1° C. before 1 minute has passedsince 0° C. was reached, the control unit 560 operates the heater 555 atthat time point to raise the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 510 (S660).

However, when the temperature of the temperature sensor 550 has notreached −1° C. over 1 minute since the temperature of the temperaturesensor 550 reached 0° C. in steps S630 and S640, the control unit 560operates the heater 555 to raise the temperature of the ice-making waterin the ice-making water storage at a time point when 1 minute has passedsince the temperature of the temperature sensor 550 reached 0° C.(S660).

In addition, when the ice-making is started by operating the pump 530,but the temperature of the temperature sensor 550 measured in step S620has not reached 0° C., the control unit 560 calculates the time elapsedafter operating the pump 530, and confirms whether 10 minutes haveelapsed (S670). At a time point at which the temperature of thetemperature sensor 550 has not reached 0° C. but 10 minutes has elapsedsince the pump 530 was driven, the control unit 560 operates the heater555 to raise the temperature of the ice-making water in the ice-makingwater storage 510 (S660).

Through this process, the moment when the slush is generated isspecified by measuring the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 510, and at this moment, the heater 555 isoperated to raise the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 510, thereby preventing slush from beinggenerated or quickly removing the generated slush. Therefore, the slushprevention effect is remarkably excellent as compared with a case wherewater is supplied by arbitrarily selecting a specific time point. As aresult, it is possible to make transparent ice with good quality, andice is formed in all parts of the evaporator 520, thereby increasing theproduction amount.

Further, the control unit 560 may derive a further control time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be further generated after the heater isoperated to raise the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 510 at the control time point as illustratedand described in FIG. 6. In addition, the control unit 560 controls theheater 555 so as to raise the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 510 at this further control time point.

The further control time point is derived based on the temperature ofthe ice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 550 similar tothe control time point. Here, the further control time point correspondsto a time point at which the temperature sensor 550 reaches the secondtemperature when the temperature sensor 550 reaches the secondtemperature, which is lower than the first temperature, within the firsttime after reaching the first temperature. However, a time point atwhich the temperature sensor 550 reaches the first temperature and thefirst time passes when the temperature sensor 550 reaches the firsttemperature but does not reach the second temperature within the firsttime, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Further, a time pointat which the second time passes from the control time point when thetemperature sensor 550 does not reach the first temperature within thesecond time from the control time point, corresponds to the furthercontrol time point. Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and thesecond temperature may is be −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minuteand the second time may be 10 minutes.

As described above, the control unit 560 may derive a time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be generated several times, and mayprevent the slush from being generated or quickly remove the generatedslush by supplying water at room temperature at the corresponding time.

Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a fourth embodiment of anice-making machine according to the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the ice-making machine 700 of the fourth embodimentincludes an ice-making water storage 710, an evaporator 720, a pump 730,an ice-making water supply valve 740, a temperature sensor 750, and acontrol unit 760. The flow of ice-making water in the ice-making machine700 of the fourth embodiment is indicated by arrows.

The ice-making water storage 710 has a receiving space in which theice-making water is capable of being stored. The ice-making water iswater for ice-making, and is supplied into the ice-making water storage710 through an ice-making water supply pipe 715. The supply of theice-making water is performed through the ice-making water supply valve740. The ice-making water storage 710 is provided with an upper limitdetection sensor 770 and a lower limit detection sensor 775, and thesedetection sensors 770 and 775 allow an appropriate amount of ice-makingwater to be supplied to the ice-making water storage 710.

The evaporator 720 is disposed above the ice-making water storage 710,and the ice-making water supplied from the ice-making water storage 710is made into ice through the pump 730. The evaporator 720 is providedwith a cooling line through which a refrigerant circulates, and therefrigerant circulates through the cooling line to make ice from theice-making water supplied to the evaporator 720. The evaporator 720 ofthe fourth embodiment is in the form of a plate. When the ice-makingwater supplied to a surface of the plate-shaped evaporator 720 reaches afreezing point, the ice is adhered to the surface of the evaporator 720,and after that, the ice is gradually enlarged to perform ice formation.The ice-making water that has not been made into ice falls andcirculates to the ice-making water storage 710 positioned below theevaporator 720. The ice-making water entering the ice-making waterstorage 710 is supplied to the evaporator 720 by the pump 730 again.

The pump 730 is positioned in the receiving space inside the ice-makingwater storage 710 and supplies the ice-making water stored in theice-making water storage 710 to the evaporator 720 disposed above theice-making water storage 710.

The temperature sensor 750 is positioned in the receiving space insidethe ice-making water storage 710, and measures the temperature of theice-making water stored in the ice-making water storage 710.

The control unit 760 controls to prevent the slush from being generatedin the ice-making water storage 710, or to quickly remove the generatedslush therefrom. To this end, the control unit 760 derives a controltime point at which the slush is predicted to be generated in theice-making water storage 710, pauses an operation of the pump 730, andallows the evaporator 720 to be subcooled. The evaporator 720 may besubcooled using a cooling line. When the operation of the pump 730 ispaused and the evaporator 720 is subcooled, most of the ice-making watersupplied to the evaporator 720 is adhered to ice and falls from theevaporator 720, resulting in reduction in ice-making water circulatingto the ice-making water storage 710, thereby preventing slush from beinggenerated in the ice-making water storage 710 or quickly removing thegenerated slush therefrom. In addition, the control unit 760 may controlthe ice-making water supply valve 740 so that water is supplied into theice-making water storage 710, together with pausing of the operation ofthe pump 730 and subcooling of the evaporator 720 at the control timepoint. The water at this time may be water at room temperature. When thewater at room temperature is supplied into the ice-making water storage710 together with pausing of the operation of the pump 730 andsubcooling of the evaporator 720 as described above, the temperature ofthe ice-making water in the ice-making water storage 710 is raised, andthus the prevention of slush generation in the ice-making water storage710 is further increased or the generated slush is removed more quickly.

The control time point is derived based on the temperature of theice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 750. Here, thecontrol time point corresponds to a time point at which the temperaturesensor 750 reaches a second temperature when the temperature sensor 750reaches the second temperature, which is lower than a first temperature,within a first time after reaching the first temperature. However, atime point at which the temperature sensor 750 reaches the firsttemperature and the first time passes when the temperature sensor 750reaches the first temperature but does not reach the second temperaturewithin the first time, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Inaddition, a time point at which the second time passes after the pump730 is operated when the temperature sensor 750 does not reach the firsttemperature within the second time, which is longer than the first time,after the pump 730 is operated, corresponds to the control time point.Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and the second temperature maybe −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minute and the second time may be10 minutes.

Hereinafter, a control method of the control unit 760 for preventing theslush from being generated or quickly removing the generated slush willbe described in detail with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flowchartschematically illustrating an example of a process for preventing slushfrom being generated in the ice-making machine 700 according to thefourth embodiment or quickly removing the generated slush therefrom.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the pump 730 is operated and an appropriateamount of ice-making water in the ice-making water storage 710 is storedby the upper limit detection sensor 770, ice-making is started in astate where no more water is supplied into the ice-making water storage710 by turning the ice-making water supply valve 740 off (S810).

In order to prevent generation of slush in the ice-making water storage710 during the ice-making, the control unit 760 measures the temperaturethrough the temperature sensor 750 measuring the temperature of theice-making water in the ice-making water storage 710 and confirmswhether the temperature has reached 0° C. (S820). In addition, when thetemperature measured by the temperature sensor 750 has reached 0° C.,the control unit 760 calculates a time elapsed after reaching 0° C.(S830). Next, the control unit 760 confirms whether the time elapsedafter reaching 0° C. has passed 1 minute (S840). When the time has notpassed 1 minute since the temperature measured by the temperature sensor750 reached 0° C., the control unit 760 measures the temperature throughthe temperature sensor 750 measuring the temperature of the ice-makingwater in the ice-making water storage 710 and confirms whether thetemperature has reached −1° C. (S850). When the temperature measured bythe temperature sensor 750 has reached −1° C. before 1 minute has passedsince 0° C. was reached, the control unit 760 pauses an operation of thepump 730 and subcools the evaporator 720 at that time point (S860). Inaddition, although not illustrated in FIG. 8, at this time point, thecontrol unit 760 may further supply water at room temperature into theice-making water storage 710. However, when the temperature of thetemperature sensor 750 has not reached −1° C. over 1 minute since thetemperature of the temperature sensor 750 reached 0° C. in steps S830and S840, the control unit 760 pauses an operation of the pump 730 andsubcools the evaporator 720 at a time point when 1 minute has passedsince the temperature of the temperature sensor 750 reached 0° C.(S860). In addition, although not illustrated in FIG. 8, at this timepoint, the control unit 760 may further supply water at room temperatureinto the ice-making water storage 710.

In addition, when the ice-making is started by operating the pump 730,but the temperature of the temperature sensor 750 measured in step S820has not reached 0° C., the control unit 760 calculates the time elapsedafter operating the pump 730, and confirms whether 10 minutes haveelapsed (S870). At a time point at which the temperature of thetemperature sensor 750 has not reached 0° C. but 10 minutes has elapsedsince the pump 730 was driven, the control unit 760 pauses an operationof the pump 730 and subcools the evaporator 720 (S860). In addition,although not illustrated in FIG. 8, at this time point, the control unit760 may further supply water at room temperature into the ice-makingwater storage 710.

Through this process, the moment when the slush is generated isspecified by measuring the temperature of the ice-making water in theice-making water storage 710, and at this moment, the operation of thepump 730 is paused and the evaporator 720 is subcooled, and thus most ofthe ice-making water supplied to the evaporator 720 is adhered to iceand falls from the evaporator 720, resulting in reduction in ice-makingwater circulating to the ice-making water storage 710, therebypreventing slush from being generated in the ice-making water storage710 or quickly removing the generated slush therefrom. Further, at thistime, when water at room temperature is supplied together into theice-making water storage 710, the slush is removed more quickly.Therefore, the slush prevention effect is remarkably excellent ascompared with a case where water is supplied by arbitrarily selecting aspecific time point. As a result, it is possible to make transparent icewith good quality, and ice is formed in all parts of the evaporator 720,thereby increasing the production amount.

Further, the control unit 760 may derive a further control time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be further generated after the operationof the pump 730 is paused and the evaporator 720 is subcooled at thecontrol time point as illustrated and described in FIG. 6. In addition,at this further control time point, the control unit 760 pauses theoperation of the pump 730 and subcools the evaporator 720 again.

The further control time point is derived based on the temperature ofthe ice-making water measured by the temperature sensor 750 similar tothe control time point. Here, the further control time point correspondsto a time point at which the temperature sensor 750 reaches the secondtemperature when the temperature sensor 750 reaches the secondtemperature, which is lower than the first temperature, within the firsttime after reaching the first temperature. However, a time point atwhich the temperature sensor 750 reaches the first temperature and thefirst time passes when the temperature sensor 750 reaches the firsttemperature but does not reach the second temperature within the firsttime, corresponds to the predetermined time point. Further, a time pointat which the second time passes from the control time point when thetemperature sensor 750 does not reach the first temperature within thesecond time from the control time point, corresponds to the furthercontrol time point. Here, the first temperature may be 0° C. and thesecond temperature may be −1° C., and the first time may be 1 minute andthe second time may be 10 minutes.

As described above, the control unit 760 may derive a time point atwhich the slush is predicted to be generated several times, and mayprevent the slush from being generated or quickly remove the generatedslush by pausing the operation of the pump 730 and subcooling theevaporator 720 at the corresponding time.

In the ice-making machine according to the related art, due to the slushphenomenon generated during the ice-making process using the existingice-making machine, non-transparent ice is made, and the ice is notformed in a part of the evaporator, or time for ice-making is delayed,resulting in a decrease in production amount. On the other hand, in theice-making machine according to the present disclosure, it is possibleto supply water at room temperature or generate ultrasonic waves usingthe vibrator or raise the temperature of the ice-making water using theheater, or pause the pump and subcool the evaporator at the time pointwhen the slush is generated by measuring the temperature of theice-making water in the ice-making water storage, thereby preventing theslush from being generated or removing the generated slush, resulting informing transparent ice with good quality, and increasing a productionamount since the ice is formed in all parts of the evaporator.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been disclosedfor illustrative purposes, the present disclosure is not limited to theabove-described exemplary embodiments but may be variously modified bythose skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertainswithout departing from the gist of the present disclosure claimed in theclaims. Thus, these modifications should also be understood to fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ice-making machine comprising: an ice-makingwater storage for storing ice-making water therein; an evaporator formaking the ice-making water into ice by receiving the ice-making waterstored in the ice-making water storage; a pump for moving the ice-makingwater stored in the ice-making water storage to the evaporator; atemperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the ice-making waterin the ice-making water storage; and a control unit for deriving acontrol time point at which slush is predicted to be generated in theice-making water storage based on the temperature of the ice-makingwater measured in the temperature sensor and for controlling to preventslush from being generated in the ice-making water storage or to removethe slush generated in the ice-making water storage at the control timepoint. wherein the control time point is any one of a time point atwhich the temperature sensor reaches a second temperature when thetemperature sensor reaches the second temperature, which is lower than afirst temperature, within a first time after reaching the firsttemperature, a time point at which the temperature sensor reaches thefirst temperature and the first time passes when the temperature sensordoes not reach the second temperature within the first time afterreaching the first temperature, and a time point at which a second timepasses after the pump is operated when the temperature sensor does notreach the first temperature within the second time, which is longer thanthe first time, after the pump is operated.
 2. The ice-making machine ofclaim 1, wherein the control unit controls water to be supplied into theice-making water storage at the control time point.
 3. The ice-makingmachine of claim 2, wherein the control unit controls water at roomtemperature to be supplied into the ice-making water storage for a fewseconds.
 4. The ice-making machine of claim 1, further comprising: avibrator positioned inside the ice-making water storage and generatingultrasonic waves, wherein the control unit controls the vibrator togenerate the ultrasonic waves in the ice-making water storage at thecontrol time point.
 5. The ice-making machine of claim 1, furthercomprising: a heater positioned inside the ice-making water storage toraise the temperature of the ice-making water in the ice-making waterstorage, wherein the control unit controls the heater to raise thetemperature of the ice-making water in the ice-making water storage atthe control time point.
 6. The ice-making machine of claim 1, whereinthe control unit pauses an operation of the pump at the control timepoint, and controls the evaporator to be subcooled.
 7. The ice-makingmachine of claim 6, wherein the control unit controls water to besupplied into the ice-making water storage at the control time point. 8.The ice-making machine of claim 1, wherein the first temperature is 0°C. and the second temperature is −1° C.
 9. The ice-making machine ofclaim 1, wherein the first time is 1 minute and the second time is 10minutes.
 10. The ice-making machine of claim 1, wherein the control unitderives a further control time point at which the slush is predicted tobe generated in the ice-making water storage after the control timepoint based on the temperature of the ice-making water measured in thetemperature sensor.
 11. The ice-making machine of claim 10, wherein thefurther control time point is any one of a time point at which thetemperature sensor reaches the second temperature when the temperaturesensor reaches the second temperature within the first time afterreaching the first temperature, a time point at which the temperaturesensor reaches the first temperature and the first time passes when thetemperature sensor does not reach the second temperature within thefirst time after reaching the first temperature, and a time point atwhich the second time passes from the control time point when thetemperature sensor does not reach the first temperature within thesecond time from the control time point.